The News

Bringing Sports & Fitness To Life!

If you live in the Charlotte, NC area and you’re into the fitness scene, or even if you’re not… you have probably seen a few new orange signs shining brightly. Sports & Fitness (S&F) clubs are a new option in the fitness industry here in town. When I was approached early in 2009 by the owners of S&F, I was excited to hear their story about how the Charlotte area needed some better options when it comes to fitness centers.

We started the project on the ground floor with the development of the S&F logo and branding image. While listening to the goals of the S&F ownership and where they wanted to go with this new concept, it became apparent that they wanted to establish themselves as a clean, modern and professional brand. When it came to the logo, it was important to show the brand as an active and exciting place to take care of your fitness needs. The “swoosh S” mark (as it lovingly came to be known) was the final winner in a logo designing spree that lasted well over a month. The “swooshes” bisecting the “S” stand to show motion and a sense of activity. When it came time to decide on the corporate colors, their outlook was simple… “we want a bold color combination that will instantly stand out and identify our branding from that of our competitors.” In the end, a color combination of a bright and bold orange and black was the winner!

Once the logo and identity was established we began the work needed to further that “look” into the advertising, marketing materials and website for the brand. Furthering the notion of the “swoosh” representing motion, we developed a consistent brand image with a prominent orange swoosh on all S&F materials. Having the overall “look” settled upon, we began the process of building the S&F website.

The overall design of the S&F site is closely tied to the clean, modern look of the other marketing materials, utilizing a pretty restricted color palette of orange, black and shades of grey. As for the functionality of the site, we implemented a Content Management System (CMS) for quick and easy client-side changes, Google Calendars for easy and quick updates to the various club fitness schedules, a banner management system, and all kinds of various back-end goodies that most visitors will never see. The site is still a work in progress with many new features coming in the next round of site additions, or as we call it “S&F v.2.0.” These additions will include some new sections of the site showcasing new features offered by S&F, the ability to automatically sign up and process club dues online, and re-working the layout of a few pages to better represent the content. So, until then here we are with the new S&F website v1.0.

If you get a few minutes, or if you’re in the market to join a new fitness center (we all have those New Year’s resolutions to keep up with, ya know…) drop by and check it out.